By Scott Wraight, NBA.com As the old cliche states: The more things change, the more they stay the same. He may have changed duds and locale, but LeBron James remains the King when it comes to our Old School Power Rankings. Can anyone snatch his throne or will we witness our first back-to-back OSPR champion? Since the last time we saw you, some big names have joined the 32-and-over club: George Hill, Goran Dragic, Al Horford, Rudy Gay and Wes Matthews. And Lou Williams will throw his hat onto the court later this month. Here's a quick look at all the OSPR champs: Pau Gasol (2015-16), Dwyane Wade (2016-17), LeBron James (2017-18). Also, we're trying something new this season. If you have something to say (clean version, please) about these rankings, send over an e-mail. If it's solid, we may include it in the next rankings. Just make sure to include your first name and city. - Notes: Preseason statistics are through games of October 11 - Any player who turns 32 during regular season can be added to rankings. - Check out previous rankings +++ 1. LeBron James (33), Los Angeles Lakers Ranking at end of '17-18: 1 Last season stats: 27.5 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 9.1 apg It's hard to fathom James slowing down now that he's in Hollywood. Heck, the bright lights might even mean another gear. We'll go out on a fat limb and say someone will have to have an extra special season to overthrow him. And if the preseason is any indication (I know, I know), James is ready -- averaging 13.8 points in 15.8 minutes on 60 percent shooting from the field. 2. Chris Paul (33), Houston Rockets Ranking at end of '17-18: 4 Last season stats: 18.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 7.9 apg How will Paul's numbers carry over this season with the addition of volume-shooter Carmelo Anthony? Dare we say he goes for less than 16 points for the first time since 2010-11? The other big question that seems to follow Paul every season is whether he can stay healthy. The gritty All-Star point guard has failed to play 70 games in each of the past two seasons. 3. LaMarcus Aldridge (33), San Antonio Spurs Ranking at end of '17-18: 2 Last season stats: 23.1 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.0 apg Tony Parker is gone. Manu Ginobili retired. Lonnie Walker IV, Dejounte Murray and Derrick White are injured. So ... Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan will be doing some heavy lifting at the start of the season. And based on what the big man did last season (averaging more than 23 points for the first time since '14-15), he'll be up for the challenge. 4. Marc Gasol (33), Memphis Grizzlies Ranking at end of '17-18: 6 Last season stats: 17.2 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 4.2 apg After averaging 19.5 points two seasons ago, Gasol took a couple big steps back, slipping to 17.2. One huge reason for that was the absence of stud point guard Mike Conley, who missed all but 12 games last season. A healthy Conley should mean an energized and engaged Gasol, and a likely return to 19 points per game. 5. Dwight Howard (32), Washington Wizards Ranking at end of '17-18: 3 Last season stats: 16.6 ppg, 12.5 rpg, 1.3 apg Howard hasn't played in any preseason games, dealing with a piriformis injury that may or may not linger into the start of the regular season. That said, Howard proved to be reliable last season, playing in 81 games while averaging more than 12 rebounds for a second straight season. With Bradley Beal and John Wall around, Howard's scoring will likely slip from last year's 16.6. 6. Al Horford (32), Boston Celtics Ranking at end of '17-18: NA Last season stats: 12.9 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 4.7 apg Horford's scoring has gone down in each of the last three seasons (15.2 in '15-16, 14.0 in '16-17 and 12.9 last season), and that should continue to be the case as both Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward enter the season healthy. As long as Boston's talented unit stays healthy, we're likely looking at 11 and seven from Horford this season. 7. Paul Millsap (33), Denver Nuggets Ranking at end of '17-18: 7 Last season stats: 14.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.8 apg Millsap's first season in Denver didn't go according to plan, as he missed 44 games with a wrist injury. With the wealth of young talent surrounding him, Millsap may not average more than 14 this season. But he should be able to chip in solid production on the boards, some steals and blocks and knock down a fair share of 3-pointers. 8. Kyle Lowry (32), Toronto Raptors Ranking at end of '17-18: Just missed Last season stats: 16.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 6.9 apg With his longtime buddy DeMar DeRozan shipped out to San Antonio, will Lowry quickly find chemistry with new stud Kawhi Leonard? Whether or not that happens will have a huge impact on the Raptors' season -- and Lowry's stats. After averaging 21 or more points in the previous two seasons, Lowry slipped to 16.2 last year. We expect that to ascend to about 18 per game. 9. Goran Dragic (32), Miami Heat Ranking at end of '17-18: NA Last season stats: 17.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 4.8 apg It's hard to believe Dragic is on this list, considering he still looks like a baby-faced 25-year-old. But aging hasn't slowed the Slovenian guard, who has averaged better than 17 points in each of the last two seasons. Judging by four preseason games in which he averaged 12.3 points and 46.2 FG% in 20.6 minutes, he's ready to roll. 10. J.J. Redick (34), Philadelphia 76ers Ranking at end of '17-18: 5 Last season stats: 17.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 3.0 apg Talking about preseason games, Redick has been dialed in, averaging 15.8 points, 58.8 FG% and 56.5 3PT% in 21 minutes. With the 76ers' abundance of young talent ready to take another step, it'll be interesting to see if Redick can repeat his offensive surge from last year in which he averaged a career-best 17.1. Just missed the cut: Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Rajon Rondo, Trevor Ariza, Pau Gasol, Rudy Gay Will turn 32 this season: Lou Williams (Oct. 27), Ian Mahinmi (Nov. 5) The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting......»»

By Scott Wraight, NBA.com While a pair of familiar names battle injuries and try to keep a spot on the list, another duo enters the chase for the first time in 2018-19. Now that we're past the 'unofficial' start of the season with Christmas Day in the rear-view mirror, it'll be interesting to see which challengers step forward. Meanwhile, the King receives the first dent in his armor in the form of a groin injury. But that won't likely be enough to slow him down or allow for anyone else to break through the gate. - Notes: Statistics are through games of Dec. 27 (Dec. 28, PHL time); ATHO = All To His Own - Any player who turns 32 during regular season can be added to rankings. - Check out previous rankings ATHO. LeBron James (33), Los Angeles Lakers Previous rank: ATHO Latest stats: 6 games, 22.3 ppg, 11.7 rpg, 8.0 apg Season stats: 27.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 7.1 apg A strained groin has ended James' consecutive games streak at 156. The Lakers will be extra cautious, electing to sit him for 'several games.' Yet it's still difficult to see the King losing his spot if he misses three, five or even 10 games. Before the injury, James had secured four straight double-doubles including a triple-double. ________________________________________________________ 1. LaMarcus Aldridge (33), San Antonio Spurs Previous rank: 1 Latest stats: 6 games, 20.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 2.2 apg Season stats: 18.9 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 2.1 apg After struggling at the start the season, Aldridge has found his comfort zone while helping the Spurs go 8-2 in their last 10. Aldridge has managed five games of 20 or more points in the last seven while shooting a blistering 58.1 percent from the field. All this while averaging fewer than 30 minutes per game, which comes out to 28.2 points per 48 minutes on the season. 2. Marc Gasol (33), Memphis Grizzlies Previous rank: 2 Latest stats: 7 games, 15.6 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 5.4 apg Season stats: 16.2 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 4.3 apg Gasol was unspectacular over the last seven, but just good enough to hold off Redick for the No. 2 spot. Yes, the veteran center managed to score 15 or more in four of those games, but went for 20 or more once. Gasol also posted double-digit rebounds in one game while failing to shoot better than 50 percent from the field in four straight games. 3. J.J. Redick (34), Philadelphia 76ers Previous rank: 3 Latest stats: 7 games, 18.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.6 apg Season stats: 18.2 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.9 apg Another solid stretch has Mr. Steady this close to overtaking Gasol. In his last three games, Redick has scored 17 or more points, connected on four or more three-pointers and shot better 58 percent in two of the three. He continues to score at a career-best 18.2 ppg, reaching double figures in all 36 games this season. 4. Lou Williams (32), LA Clippers Previous rank: 5 Latest stats: 4 games, 20.3 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 7.5 apg Season stats: 17.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 4.9 apg After missing four games with a hamstring injury, Williams returned in a big way -- scoring 24 or more in three of four games in just 22 minutes per game. If that's not enough, he shot an impressive 56.5 percent from the field, 60.0 from deep and contributed six or more assists in all four games. Williams just might be the Clippers' most important player. 5. Kyle Lowry (32), Toronto Raptors Previous rank: 4 Latest stats: 1 game, 20 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 5.0 apg Season stats: 14.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 9.8 apg Lowry has been battling back/thigh injuries that has forced him to miss five of the last six games. The one game he was able to suit up for went OK (20 points on 6-for-16 shooting, six rebounds and five assists). The nagging injuries could help explain his uneven production over the last three weeks. 6. Marvin Williams (32), Charlotte Hornets Previous rank: NA Latest stats: 6 games, 13.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.2 apg Season stats: 9.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.0 apg Welcome to the race, new face. After starting the season with just four double-digit scoring games in the first 17 games, Williams has produced six such games in the last nine as well as connecting on three or more three's. In fact, he's matching his career best (2015-16) of 1.9 three-pointers made per game. 7. Trevor Ariza (33), Washington Wizards Previous rank: NA Latest stats: 5 games, 14.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 3.4 apg Season stats: 10.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 3.4 apg All Ariza has done since his trade from Phoenix is post double-digit scoring games in four of five, with no total dipping below 14. The shooting has been off lately (36.2 FG%, 31.7 3PT%), but he's still managed to hit multiple three's in 3-of-5 and at least three steals in four of five, including a season-high six in his first game with the Wizards. 8. Chris Paul (33), Houston Rockets Previous rank: 6 Latest stats: 4 games, 11.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 7.8 apg Season stats: 15.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 8.0 apg Paul has missed the last three games and will be sidelined at least two weeks with a hamstring injury. It could be hard to see him holding down a spot on the list much longer. In four games before the injury, Paul was hit-and-miss, shooting 3-for-10 in three games and 7-for-11 in the other. He did, however, manage eight or more assists in three of four. 9. Rudy Gay (32), San Antonio Spurs Previous rank: 9 Latest stats: 6 games, 13.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 3.3 apg Season stats: 14.0 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.4 apg Gay's streak of double-digit scoring games came to an end at 10 after Wednesday's (Thursday, PHL time) six-point effort. Outside of that, he was fairly consistent, putting up between 12-21 points in the other five games. Gay also grabbed six or more boards in five of six and shot better than 50 percent from the field in four. 10. J.J. Barea (34), Dallas Mavericks Previous rank: 10 Latest stats: 5 games, 13.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 6.8 apg Season stats: 11.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 5.6 apg The good: 18 points on 7-for-13 shooting Wednesday (Thursday, PHL time) and 19 points in 8-for-15 shooting on Dec. 20. The bad: nine points on 2-for-9 Sunday (Monday, PHL time) and 10 points on 4-for-11 on Dec. 18 (Dec. 19, PHL time). It certainly has been a mixed bag for Barea, who continues to provide sparks here and there despite averaging just 23.4 minutes. Just missed the cut: DeMarre Carroll, Dwyane Wade, Garrett Temple, Marco Belinelli The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting......»»

By Scott Wraight, NBA.com It was bound to happen, right? The King was never, ever going to give up his throne to anyone else. Period. Because of that, we had to separate him from the rest of the field and give out a new ranking: ATHO (All To His Own). So unless something crazy happens during the season -- or an injury -- No. 1 will have an asterisk of sorts. Now that the chase has opened up for everyone else, it should make for an interesting and intriguing run to the finish line, asterisk be damned. Notes: - Statistics are through games of Nov. 15 (Nov. 16, PHL time) - Any player who turns 32 during regular season can be added to rankings. - Check out previous rankings - Send comments to my email. If it's good -- and clean -- it may appear in a future column. Be sure to include your first name and city. ATHO. LeBron James (33), Los Angeles Lakers Previous rank: 1 Latest stats: 6 games, 27.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 6.2 apg Season stats: 27.6 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 7.2 apg Wednesday's (Thursday, PHL time) 44-point performance against the Trail Blazers was the one. That was the one that pushed the King into his own tier, his own neighborhood, his own ranking. He just refuses to make it fair for everyone else. That's how good he is. In addition to Wednesday's (Thursday, PHL time) superior effort, James has gone for 25 or more in eight of the last 10. _______________________________________________________________ 1. Marc Gasol (33), Memphis Grizzlies Previous rank: 4 Latest stats: 7 games, 16.4 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 4.6 apg Season stats: 15.9 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 4.1 apg After eclipsing 15 points in just three of the first six, Gasol has surpassed the mark in four straight, which included Wednesday's (Thursday, PHL time) effort in which he tied a career high with six three's. Of course the splits over the last seven left us puzzled. In four wins, Gasol went for 21.0 ppg, 9.8 rpg and 52.2 3PT%. In three losses: 10.3 ppg, 7.7 rpg and 0-for-8 from deep. 2. Chris Paul (33), Houston Rockets Previous rank: 3 Latest stats: 8 games, 16.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 7.1 apg Season stats: 17.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 7.5 apg We were ready to move Paul to the top of the list until Thursday's (Friday, PHL time) effort: 10 points (4-for-10 shooting) and seven assists against the Warriors. In two previous games, Paul managed 21 and 26 on 15-for-25 shooting. Of course four previous contests saw him combine for just 39 points on 15-for-47 (31.9) shooting. It's been a bit of a roller coaster ride in November. 3. LaMarcus Aldridge (33), San Antonio Spurs Previous rank: 2 Latest stats: 7 games, 14.1 ppg, 12.9 rpg, 1.6 apg Season stats: 17.4 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 2.4 apg He's scoring at home while rebounding on the road. In three home games, Aldridge went for 21.0 ppg and 9.3 rpg. In four road games, he averaged 9.0 ppg and 15.5 rpg. Aldridge has been hot and cold this month, failing to score in double figures in two of seven and scoring 20 or more just twice. One consistent has been the board work, grabbing 10 or more in five straight. 4. JJ Redick (34), Philadelphia 76ers Previous rank: 7 Latest stats: 7 games, 17.9 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 3.7 apg Season stats: 18.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 3.5 apg Redick is feeling it of late, pouring in 20 or more points and hitting at least three three-pointers in three consecutive games. Coincidentally, he's started the last three games after beginning the season on the bench. We've also taken notice of Redick's volume of long-range shots, making 3.0 treys a game and attempting 8.3 -- both career highs. 5. Lou Williams (32), LA Clippers Previous rank: Just missed Latest stats: 6 games, 21.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 5.7 apg Season stats: 19.4 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 4.1 apg Hello there, newbie. Williams, who just turned 32 on Oct. 27, sprints up the list on the strength of five games with 20 or more points -- all while averaging less than 30 minutes (29.4) per game. In fact, the only game he didn't go for 20, he added 10 assists. Digging deeper, the last time Williams failed to break double-figure scoring was Nov. 20, 2017. 6. Kyle Lowry (32), Toronto Raptors Previous rank: 5 Latest stats: 6 games, 13.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 10.0 apg Season stats: 16.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 10.7 apg Lowry, who finally saw his streak of games with 10-plus assists end at nine, has been a bit of a road warrior over the last handful of games. In his last three home games, he averaged 9.3 points, 8.7 assists and 40.0 FG%. In three road games, Lowry managed 18.0 points, 11.3 assists and 46.3 FG%. 7. Wesley Matthews (32), Dallas Mavericks Previous rank: 6 Latest stats: 5 games, 12.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.4 apg Season stats: 16.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.4 apg After starting the season with six straight double-figure scoring games, Matthews has gone for 10 or more in just three of the last seven. He missed one game with a hamstring injury and had to leave Wednesday's (Thursday, PHL time) game after just 21 minutes with the same injury, so that'll skew the numbers a bit, which is why he only fell one spot. 8. Taj Gibson (33), Minnesota Timberwolves Previous rank: NA Latest stats: 7 games, 12.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 1.9 apg Season stats: 11.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 1.4 apg Gibson started the season sluggishly, failing to score more than 13 points in any of the first 10 games. Since then, the gritty veteran has gone for 15 or more in three of the last five. Also in those first 10 games, Gibson managed to snag nine or more boards just once. He's done that three times in the last five contests. 9. Dwight Howard (32), Washington Wizards Previous rank: NA Latest stats: 7 games, 12.6 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 0.4 apg Season stats: 12.6 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 0.4 apg After missing the first seven games of the season with a back injury, Howard is starting to get into a groove. In addition to scoring in double figures in four straight, he has snatched eight or more rebounds in five of the last six. His return to the lineup might also be a reason the Wizards have started to turn things around, winning four of their last six. 10. Goran Dragic (32), Miami Heat Previous rank: 9 Latest stats: 4 games, 16.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 4.5 apg Season stats: 17.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 4.8 apg The theme song from Facts of Life keeps running through my head: "You take the good, you take the bad ..." That rings very true with Dragic, who in his four games had three with 20 or more points and one with a goose egg on 0-for-7 shooting. Now, we won't pile on since we realize he missed a pair of games with a knee injury. Just missed the cut: Paul Millsap, JJ Barea, Dwyane Wade, Al Horford, Jeff Green The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting......»»

By David Aldridge, TNT analyst The season starts on Tuesday night (Wednesday, PHL time). You’ve been waiting patiently all summer with your questions. Fire away. 1. So … what’s the point of playing this season? The Golden State Warriors are still the prohibitive favorites to repeat this season, next season and into the foreseeable future. But it was good to see a good chunk of the Western Conference -- the Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets, to name three teams -- not fold before the first card is dealt. That fact alone is incredibly important. The Warriors are still the best team in the West, without question. But if teams don’t even try to get better, or spend money to compete, the whole rationale for playing fades away. The Thunder could have rode Russell Westbrook alone to another first-round playoff loss, watched him walk out the door in free agency next summer and thrown up its hands, plead ‘woe is us and all small-market teams,’ and enjoyed a luxury tax-free life for the next few years. The Rockets could have just kept selling tickets to fans to watch James Harden and his pals shoot 50 threes a game for the next two or three years. It’s an appealing brand of basketball. Denver could have just kept building through the Draft, climbing a few more wins here or there for a while, and snuck into the eighth seed, choosing to be comfortable rather than bold. But they didn’t. They’ve called and raised. In all likelihood, it won’t be enough to beat Golden State. But those teams can sleep well at night. They’re not cheating their players, or fans. 2. So, is OKC now a legit threat to the Warriors? The short answer: no. But it’s closer. Carmelo Anthony will be as good a third option as anyone in the league has, though; he will eat regularly on the weak side as defenses scramble to handle Westbrook-Paul George pick and rolls; a quick seal and ‘Melo will be off to the races. If coach Billy Donovan goes small ball with Patrick Patterson at the five, there will be many nights when OKC drops a 130 spot. Yes, the Thunder’s defense is going to be an issue; while Enes Kanter was a sieve off the bench, he was coming off the bench, playing behind Steven Adams. Anthony will be starting and playing big minutes, many at the four. But it won’t matter most nights when the Thunder is up 20 to start the fourth quarter, after 36 minutes of Westbrook sorties, George 3-pointers and transition dunks, and Carmelo post-ups and spot-ups (he shot 44.8 percent last season on catch and shoot shots. Among forwards who played 30 or more minutes last season, per NBA.com/Stats, only Kevin Durant, Otto Porter and Kawhi Leonard shot better). The Thunder can guard you with George, Andre Roberson and Adams and they can outscore you with Westbrook and George and ‘Melo. They have a solid bench (Patterson, Ray Felton, Jerami Grant, Alex Abrines) and Westbrook won’t be physically spent by the end of the 2018 playoffs. Wait; what am I saying? Of course he’ll be spent. But he’ll also be playing way deeper into May. 3. Did not getting Anthony hurt Houston or nah? The Rockets -- okay, Chris Paul -- wanted this done bad. It won’t hurt Houston in the regular season, when Paul and James Harden will dominate. And while Harden didn’t like Kevin McHale’s critique of his leadership, Mac was spot on. That doesn’t make “The Beard” a bad guy or teammate -- people gravitate to their comfortable roles in life, and CP3 is a natural-born leader. Harden will, one thinks, be more comfortable with slightly less light on him. They’ll do fine playing together and off one another. But the shadow of the Rockets’ implosion from deep -- 29 of 88 on three-pointers the last two games against the Spurs in their Western Conference semifinals series -- still hangs over them. Ryan Anderson was negated in the postseason. There’s a reason CP3 pushed for ‘Melo so hard. The Rockets will need unexpected consistent offense from a P.J. Tucker or Luc Mbah a Moute in May if they have any hopes of playing in June. 4. Can we just start the Cleveland-Boston East finals now? Maybe Toronto, with C.J. Miles shooting 40 percent on 3-pointers to complement Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, will break up what seems inevitable. Maybe Washington, with its super-solid starting five intact, now has the mental toughness to bust past the second round, where it’s been beached three of the last four postseasons. But it doesn’t feel like that. Boston, ultimately, should be a lot better this season than last. It will take a while for coach Brad Stevens to figure out the rotation and whether Jaylen Brown can really stick at the two, but ultimately, the Celtics have two dynamic playmakers/scorers in Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, and with Al Horford providing the glue at both ends, they’re going to be a load by the end of the season. And while Cleveland will have to wait a while for Isaiah Thomas, the Cavs have more than enough firepower until Thomas can make his debut. Whatever Dwyane Wade has left will be accentuated playing with James, and Kevin Love (holy moly, is he underrated) will feast drawing slower, bigger centers out to him on the perimeter. J.R. Smith doesn’t like losing his starting job to Wade, and he should be ticked. But he nonetheless will help Cleveland’s bench, which will be incredibly difficult in its own right with Tristan Thompson and Kyle Korver complementing Smith. And that’s before Thomas returns, which will put Derrick Rose on that second unit. There won’t be any rest for defenses who’ll then have to contend with a rested James, et al, coming back. It says here that not only will the Cavs not miss Irving offensively, they could be even more diverse and difficult to guard this season. Not to mention that James is supremely motivated to make an eighth straight Finals. 5. Could Curry break his record of 402 3-pointers in a season? At first glance, with Durant and Klay and Draymond (and, now, Nick Young) all needing to get fed as well, it would seem impossible for Curry to best the mark he set two years ago, on the 73-9 regular season team. But consider: coach Steve Kerr thinks a new guy always blossoms in his second year with the Warriors, which means Durant should be even more lethal offensively this year, as the Warriors’ offense reaches an even higher level of efficiency. And the way they move the ball, it’s not a stretch to think that with defenses tripping over themselves to get to Durant, Curry could get into one of those ridiculous grooves that could leave him within striking distance of 402 by the end of the season. 6. Could the last one in the Eastern Conference turn out the lights? The New York Knicks were hardly a power in the East before trading Anthony, but his departure creates one more team that will struggle to win 35 games this season. With the paucity of talent there should be at least four 50-win teams in the East -- Cleveland, Boston, Toronto and Washington -- with the Milwaukee Bucks knocking on the door. 7. Who’s going to regret their offseason? The Bucks were fine off the court -- their new arena is already more than halfway constructed and looks like it’s going to be a gem -- although the surrounding mall that is supposed to be part of the complex is not going up as quickly. But the Bucks didn’t address their bigs-heavy roster and move some of the surplus -- how can coach Jason Kidd keep all of Greg Monroe, Jabari Parker and John Henson happy with Thon Maker scarfing up more and more frontcourt minutes? -- for the shooting Milwaukee still needs. The East is so open, and Milwaukee is so close to breaking through into elite status with Giannis Antetokounmpo an elite performer. 8. Rudy Gay -- sneaky good pickup? Gay says he’s cool starting or coming off the bench for the Spurs, but he’d best as San Antonio’s sixth man, at least to start things. Bringing Pau Gasol off the bench didn’t work so well, so if he’s starting at center, coach Gregg Popovich can’t go small ball with “Cousin” LaMarcus Aldridge at the five and Gay at the four alongside Kawhi Leonard. (Current state of Spurs fans’ cuticles here and here as they consider a season with an extended Klaw absence if this quad injury doesn’t improve soon.) The Spurs could have some serious firepower in reserve if Gay and Patty Mills come off the bench, but Mills or Dejounte Murray will likely have to start at the point until Tony Parker comes back. 9. Speaking of Popovich … Should he and Steve Kerr and Stan Van Gundy stick to sports? No. 10. Who’s gonna be Kia Rookie of the Year? I say Markelle Fultz. What, you thought I was gonna pick against a DeMatha Catholic man? (Actual unretouched photo of me as a sophomore at the most successful high school in the history of the United States may or may not be here). Playing off of Joel Embiid, J.J. Redick, Robert Covington … it’s hard to see Fultz not looking really good when he should have all kinds of room to operate. Lonzo Ball will put up bigger numbers, and Tatum will be on a better team. But Boston was good last year, and Jayson Tatum will likely not play as much as the others. The Sixers are poised for a big jump up in the standings, and that’s always a narrative that voters like and get behind -- which is what will hurt Dennis Smith Jr.'s chances in Dallas. 11. What does Dwyane Wade really have left? Now that the inevitable buyout of Wade’s $24 million deal by the Bulls has led to the equally inevitable trek to Cleveland to play with James, can the 35-year-old Wade still be a significant contributor on a title contender? Given the general dysfunction in Chicago last season, you can dismiss most of the good and bad numbers Wade put up, with two exceptions: he still averaged almost five free throw attempts per game, and he shot 31 percent on 3-pointers -- not great, but more than double his anemic 15.9 percent behind the arc in 2015-16, his last with the Miami Heat. Wade obviously knows the cheat code for how to most effectively play off of James, so he’ll use the regular season to learn his teammates and be ready for the playoffs. But can Wade hold up over seven games defensively if he has to chase, say, Bradley Beal around, or try to deny DeRozan his preferred mid-range spots, and still be productive offensively? 12. Back to the Sixers -- how good will they be? My guess is they’ll pretty good in the 60 or so games I anticipate Embiid will play this season -- I’m assuming several designated off days for him during the season, not another injury. The mix of young talent (Fultz, Embiid, Ben Simmons, Dario Saric, Covington) and crafty vets (Redick, Amir Johnson) should mesh to make the 76ers a very tough team to defend. But Philly has to resolve the Jahlil Okafor situation, and in fairness to him, give him a fresh start somewhere else with a trade as soon as possible. If I were a good team that would be hard-pressed to add a free agent any time soon and feels a player short of true contention -- I’m looking at you, Memphis Grizzlies and Wizards -- I’d work hard to get the new, slimmed-down Okafor on my squad while he’s still on his rookie contract and make him the focal point of a kick-ass second unit. 13. Should we feel some kind of way about the Trail Blazers? I’m picking up what you’re putting down. A full season of the “Bosnian Beast” in the middle, it says here, will vault Portland into the top four in the West. Note I said “full season.” That means Jusuf Nurkic has to give coach Terry Stotts between 65-70 starts for the above premonition to be, as they say in the legal world, actionable. If so, Nurkic’s underrated scoring and passing out of the post will only make Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum that much more deadly out front, along with improving Portland’s defense. Per Basketball-Reference.com, the Blazers were 11.6 points per game better than the opposition with those three on the floor together and a +5 when their regular five-man lineup with Maurice Harkless and Al-Farouq Aminu joined the guards and Nurkic. And that’s pronounced, “Noor-kitch,” accent on Noor. 13. A little movie break ... Kevin Costner’s accent in “Robin Hood” -- worst ever, right? Yes, but Natalie Wood’s in “West Side Story” was painful, too. 14. Many have written the post-CP3 Clippers off. Should they? The Clippers are my darkhorse this season -- if they do the right thing and go small more often. They’re doing it more in practice so far than in games because Danilo Gallinari is working through a foot injury, but Blake Griffin at the five and Gallinari at the four could be spicy during the regular season. That would mean Sam Dekker and/or Wes Johnson would have to become credible and dependable at the three, allowing coach Doc Rivers to play a Pat Beverly-Milos Teodosic backcourt more often, which will just be fun. This would, of course, mean less DeAndre Jordan, and … that may not be the worst thing. Nothing against DJ, who is the best defensive big in the league, bar none. Unfortunately, the NBA isn’t about defense any more -- at least not in the traditional sense. Even someone like Jordan who doesn’t just block shots, but also helps snuff out opposing pick and rolls, becomes less valued by the league’s advanced stats crowd if he doesn’t contribute more offensively. The three has gone a long way to tyrannizing the defense-dominant big man out of the game. (Zach Lowe recommends the Wizards try to get Jordan via trade, and it’s not the first time I’ve heard that name mentioned in connection with Washington, the idea being the only chance the Wizards have of beating Cleveland or Boston is to slow them down enough defensively that Wall-Beal-Porter can try and keep up offensively. Washington is definitely a load when Wall gets locked in on D and creates turnovers, and the idea of Jordan inhaling lobs from Wall is enticing to think about. But the Wizards are not -- not -- going to take on a fourth big contract, and Jordan’s surely going to opt out after this season; he’s rightly expecting a massive payday in 2018, and the Clippers certainly now have motive and means to retain him.) Anyway, some Lou Williams, Austin Rivers and/or Teodosic and Willie Reed off the bench isn’t bad, either. 15. Could Kyle Kuzma be the best rookie on the Lakers this season? Don’t @me, LaVar. Kuzma has followed up a very strong Vegas Summer League with high notes in preseason, averaging better than 19 points per game for the Lakers. He’s been dazzling at times, displaying in-between skills that intrigue, and showing why so many teams were trying to trade back into the first round to get the Utah forward before L.A. snagged him with its second and much less heralded first-round pick last June. And there will be minutes available at the four this season. So far, Kuzma has displayed unusual strength for a rookie and confidence in his ability to score. Of course, he’s inexperienced, and like all rookies, has to differentiate between an open shot and a good shot. The other, more famous first-rounder, Lonzo Ball, will almost certainly be the better all-around player in time. For this year, though … hmmm. 16. What does a Hawks fan have to look forward to this season? Honestly, not much. But they’ll always be well-coached and get better. I’d pick one of the young players, like rookie John Collins or second-year small forward Taurean Prince, and concentrate on them during the season. See what they do with their minutes on the floor, and watch how they gradually expand their games at both ends. Seeing a young guy get better as he gains experience and accepts coaching is one of the great joys of watching the NBA every night. 17. Orlando? What gives there? The team’s new braintrust of Jeff Weltman and John Hammond will need some time to fix the roster -- a mélange of athletic wings that have trouble defending and guards that have trouble shooting. The former is addressed somewhat with the signing of Jonathon Simmons from San Antonio, but I don’t see a solution to the latter with any of the existing backcourt contributors. Unless coach Frank Vogel figures out some way to get more turnovers/runouts from his group, they just can’t get in transition enough for their length and legs to make a difference. 18. New Orleans? What gives there? The short answer is, I have no idea. All of NBA Earth has DeMarcus Cousins out of there one way or another (he’s an unrestricted free agent in ’18 and wants to be on a contender/the Pelicans will never pay him what he wants and will have to trade him by the deadline/no way he and Anthony Davis fit together/Wall agitates for a reunion with his former Kentucky big man in D.C./your departure theory here) by this time next year, but we’ll see what coach Alvin Gentry has come up with for “Boogie” and “the Brow” after a summer to think it over. Rajon Rondo being out hurts their depth, but I have to be honest -- I don’t see how he and Jrue Holiday can possibly work together in a backcourt, and Holiday’s the guy the Pelicans just gave $125 million to, so he should probably have the ball in his hands every night, shouldn’t he? I like Ian Clark and Frank Jackson down there, but that untethered three spot burns a hole in the New Orleans sun. Well, at any rate, should be more fun than watching reruns of My Life on the D-List. 19. Favorite D-List Muppet? Beaker. 20. LeBron is leaving Cleveland again after this season, isn’t he? Everything points to yes, and a relocation to Los Angeles to play with the Lakers or Clippers next year – except … what if the Cavs win it all again this year? That’s not an impossible scenario -- in fact, it’s a pretty simple one to lay out: Cavs run roughshod through the Eastern Conference in the playoffs again, get through a good but hardly great Boston team in the conference Finals and set up a fourth straight encounter with Golden State. It’s easy now to say the Warriors dominated the Cavs in last season’s Finals -- but only if you ignore the fact that Cleveland led by six with just more than three minutes remaining in Game 3, only to see the Warriors score the game’s last 11 points to take a 3-0 lead instead of 2-1. And given that Cleveland vaporized the Warriors in Game 4, a 2-2 series would have meant the Cavs just needed to win once in Oracle -- which they’d done twice in the 2016 Finals -- to have a real shot at repeating. The point is, the difference between the teams isn’t as big as Draymond Green would have you believe; the Cavs have no fear of the Warriors, and Jae Crowder gives coach Tyronn Lue a viable on-ball defender for Kevin Durant, leaving LeBron free to play off of Green. And: that unprotected Nets pick, whether one or three or five or seven, is Cleveland’s best recruiting tool. LeBron knows everyone in college basketball and he can literally pick whoever he’d like to finish his career with in Cleveland before handing over the reins. I’m not saying he’s definitely staying, either -- only that his departure isn’t the lead pipe cinch some would have you believe. The season to come will have a lot to do with his next decision. 21. So, how will the playoffs go this season? Eastern Conference (seeds No. 1-8): Cleveland, Boston, Washington, Toronto, Milwaukee, Miami, Detroit, Philadelphia Western Conference (seeds No. 1-8): Golden State, Houston, Oklahoma City, Portland, San Antonio, Memphis, Utah, Minnesota Eastern Conference semifinalists: Cleveland, Boston, Washington, Milwaukee Western Conference semifinalists: Golden State, Houston, OKC, San Antonio Eastern Conference finals: Cleveland over Boston Western Conference finals: Golden State over OKC (you heard me) NBA Finals: Golden State over Cleveland (in seven games) 22. Tell me something crazy that’s going to happen this season that no one’s predicting! Giannis Antetokounmpo. NBA MVP, 2017-18. 23. Are you high? No, ma’am. 24. So, why 24 questions? As always, we start the season with 24 questions (or predictions, or issues, whatever) in honor of Danny Biasone, the late owner of the Syracuse Nationals, whose discovery in 1954 helped save the league. At that time, the NBA was in the midst of a literal slowdown, in large part by teams that were desperate to figure out some kind of way to stay competitive with George Mikan, the league’s first superstar big man, and his team, the Minneapolis Lakers. Teams would hold the ball for minutes at a time without shooting in an effort to shorten the game and give them a chance to beat Minneapolis late. But the end result was boring -- very boring -- basketball. At the owners’ meetings that year, Biasone came up with an idea. NBA games were 48 minutes long. Biasone figured out that in a normal game, one not waylaid by the slowdown tactics, about 120 shots -- 60 per team -- were taken. So, why not just divide the number of minutes in every game -- 2,880 -- by the number of shots in an average game -- 120 -- to come up with some kind of a time limit in which a team had to shoot. And thus, the 24-second shot clock (2,800/120) was born. With the implementation of the shot clock in the 1954-55 season, scoring went way up, as did the quality of play. Teams were now running up and down the floor in order to try and beat the shot clock, complementing the “fast break” game that many colleges had played for years. But the new style in the pros was immensely popular with fans. And it still is. Plus, there’s just something iconic about that clock counting down every 24 seconds. It’s unique to the NBA. Thus, we ask 24 questions, in honor of the guy who owned a bowling alley as well as the Nationals for much of his adult life, and probably enjoyed the bowling more. Longtime NBA reporter, columnist and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer David Aldridge is an analyst for TNT. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting......»»

2018 is already in the books. Now, we look forward to the next chapters we’re all about to read in 2019. Laban Azkals in AFC Asian Cup – January The Azkals will enter historic grounds as early as January as they play for the first time in the AFC Asian Cup in 2019. Their ticket was booked after crushing Tajikistan in a 2-1 home victory early in 2018. With a world-renowned mentored on their side in Sven-Goran Eriksson and veteran national players, the Azkals will travel to the United Arab Emirates for the continental showdown. The Azkals kick off their 2019 AFC Cup Campaign on January 7th against South Korea, followed by a match against China PR on January 11th, before closing out the Group Stage on January 16th against Kyrgyzstan. Newest season of the oldest professional league in Asia – January After just roughly a month of break from basketball action, the oldest professional league in Asia is back. The PBA will be kicking off its 44th season on January 13 with San Miguel defending its Philippine Cup title. Aside from that, marquee rookies such as CJ Perez, Robert Bolick, and Paul Desiderio are all set to play their first professional games with their respective teams. Up next on Pacman’s list – January The Filipinos will be treated to quality boxing as early as January 19 when Manny Pacquiao defends his WBA (Regular) Welterweight World Championship against challenger American Adrien Broner. After two years of fighting outside the US, Pacquiao will be back in Las Vegas to defend his title against a tough challenger in Broner. Just like old times, Freddie Roach will be back in Pacquiao's corner, this time serving as a consultant. Fanning the flames for a place in FIBA World Cup 2019 – February For the Philippines to be back in the FIBA World Cup, these are the things that need to happen: we must sweep out last two games then Japan must lose at least one of its last two games – giving us the third spot in Group F. Alternatively, we can pin our hopes on China winding up in the top four of its group – giving Groups E and F four berths apiece. Gilas Pilipinas begins its trek through that long and winding road away from home up against Qatar. All teams are teams-to-beat in UAAP 81 Volleyball – February The exciting and highly entertaining collegiate volleyball league is back on February 16. Things to watch out for? La Salle's bid for their fourth consecutive title, Ateneo's face post-Tai Bundit era, UP's confident aura coming off two major preseason championships, and UST's game-changing rookies. Eaglets-Bullpups Finals rematch or not – March Without a doubt, Ateneo and NU, the very same two teams that battled in the Finals last year, are the favorites to go all the way back to the champipnship round in the ongoing season. After all, the Blue Eaglets still have 7-foot-1, 16-year-old Kai Sotto and the Bullpups boast of the deepest roster in all of high school. After the first round of eliminations, however, it’s also clear that RJ Abarrientos-led FEU-Diliman and Joem Sabandal-fronted Adamson have other plans. For sure, something’s gotta give. Alab Pilipinas’ shot at history – April In the almost decade-long history of the Asean Basketball League, no team has won back-to-back championships. Alab Pilipinas is here to change that with the Puerto Rican pair of Renaldo Balkman and PJ Ramos showing the way alongside two-time Local MVP Ray Parks Jr. No doubt, this is the most talented team in franchise history and as such, nothing but a second straight title will be an acceptable outcome. The NCAA is five years away from its centennial celebration – July The first collegiate league in the country is approaching rarified air. Set to open its milestone mark 95th Season, the same old intensity is to be expected in the NCAA. The protagonists, however, may very well be different as all of last year’s Final Four teams will now be missing their main men – Robert Bolick for San Beda, CJ Perez for LPU, Bong Quinto for Letran, and Prince Eze for Perpetual. Is the UAAP 82 Basketball crown Katipunan’s to keep – September In Season 82, all teams will be seeking to nip the dynasty that the Ateneo Blue Eagles are trying to build. After going for back-two-back last season, all eyes will still be on them as their enter the season with an intact core. However, just like Season 81 it will not be a walk in the park with all contenders striving to match their caliber through massive recruitment, coach changes, and tough training camps. Filipino hospitality in SEA Games 2019 – November For the first time since 2005, the SEA Games will be played in Manila. That means that, at long last, our regional neighbors will yet again experience that world-renowned warmth of the Philippines and its people. Make no mistake, however, the Filipinos are all set to go all-out and dominate the medal tally – whether that be basketball in Manila or athletics and aquatics in Clark......»»

Remember these names because for sure, they will be making the headlines this 2019. Kai Sotto The 7-foot-2 wunderkind of the Ateneo Blue Eaglets will be making major decisions in 2019. With opportunities opening up for him in Europe and USA, the current Grade 10 student of Ateneo High School has the option to leave the UAAP Juniors early to explore bigger stages. Billed as the nation's best bet to be the first Filipino homegrown NBA talent, there will definitely be a lot of eyes following this young man's every move. Ricci Rivero and Kobe Paras Former De La Salle Green Archer Rivero and former Creighton Blue Jay Paras are both set to make University of the Philippines' #AtinSeason82 bid more promising, as they finish their residency and finally play for the Maroons in the UAAP in 2019. Both players are expected to make immediate impacts in the history-seeking squad given Rivero's championship experience, Paras' athleticism, and both player's Gilas cadets background. Kiefer Ravena 2018 was a tough year for national team player and NLEX Road Warrior Ravena after he was slapped with an 18-month suspension in FIBA and the PBA for testing positive for banned substances. Due to the suspension, Ravena has diverted his attention to other interests such as golf and volleyball but his days away from the hard court will be over come August 2019. By then, he will be taking the keys again for NLEX either in the PBA Commissioner's or Governor's Cup. CJ Perez, Bobby Ray Parks Jr., and Robert Bolick The 2018 PBA Rookie Draft was full of quality guards, and these top three draftees are expected to make immediate impacts in their professional teams. Former NCAA superstars Perez and Bolick both already signed lucrative contracts with Columbian Dyip and Northport. On the other hand, after being drafted in the second pick by Blackwater Elite, the former UAAP MVP and ASEAN Basketball League champion and MVP Bobby Ray Parks Jr. is still in the middle of trade talks and negotiations. Eduard Folayang, Kevin Belingon, Geje Eustaquio, and Joshua Pacio Team Lakay had a magical 2018 after producing four world champions in the Lightweight, Bantamweight, Flyweight, Strawweight divisions. However, as people say, defending a title is always tougher. By 2019, all fighters will most likely have the tough assignment to keep their belts in Baguio City. Manny Pacquiao Philippine sports fans will be treated to world-class boxing by as early as the second week of January, when Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao gets back in the ring to defend his WBA (Regular) Welterweight World Championship against American Adrien Broner. Pacquiao's long-time mentor Freddie Roach will also be back in his corner, serving as a consultant. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken) Eya Laure University of Santo Tomas' much needed reinforcement is finally here, with incoming rookie Eya Laure. The former star of the UST girls volleyball team will be making her debut in the senior's division in UAAP Season 81 this February 2019. In the preseason activities for the PVL and the PSL, Laure already proved that she will be a reliable scoring option for the Golden Tigresses - a perfect aid for graduating Sisi Rondina. Michelle Morente Volleyball fans, it's time to get used to the sight of Morente playing in La Salle green. Last September 2018, the former Ateneo Lady Eagle already played for La Salle during the beach volleyball tournament. If she makes Ramil de Jesus' cut, the feisty scorer will bolster the Lady Spikers' title defense in the UAAP Season 81 womne's volleyball tournament. Kath Arado La Salle's Dawn Macandili set the gold standard of libero greatness in UAAP. However, in 2019, libero extraordinaire Arado of the University of the East has every chance to prove that she might be the next to take the mantle of Philippine collegiate volleyball's best libero. For her UAAP Season 81 preparations, Arado played in two conferences of the Philippine Superliga at the same time - for UE in the Collegiate Grand Slam and for Generika Ayala Lifesaves for the All-Filipino conference. As a proof of her caliber, she swept all libero awards in both conferences. Kat Tolentino With Jho Maraguinot's decision to not come back for the Ateneo Lady Eagles in UAAP Season 81, Kat Tolentino is expected to make the leap and be the number one scoring option for the blue-and-white. During their preseason preparations in the Premier Volleyball League under Ateneo-Motolite, rookie coach Oliver Almadro praised Tolentino for embracing her new role as the go-to girl. --- Follow this writer on Twitter, @the9cruz.....»»

By Steve Aschburner, NBA.com With the new season underway, and with his game as hot as almost anyone to start, Charlotte Hornets guard Kemba Walker was asked what impressed or surprised him about the first 10 days or so of 2018-19. “Nothing besides my own play,” Walker said, laughing after a shootaround Friday (Saturday, PHL time). “Nothing besides seeing my name near the top of the NBA scoring, which is pretty weird.” Eh, maybe not so weird. Walker, a two-time All-Star, is the Hornets’ all-time leading scorer. At 28, the former ninth overall pick in the 2011 Draft is in his prime as a player. The 41 points he dropped on Milwaukee on opening night and the fact he’s gone for at least 23 every game since (with three more games of 30 or more) seems like the next logical step. It earned him the season’s first Eastern Conference Player of the Week honor and as Week 2 ended, his 31.7 ppg trailed only Golden State’s Stephen Curry (33.9) and Portland’s Damian Lillard (33.8). “It was [gratifying]. Who wouldn’t want it to keep going?” Walker told NBA.com. “I know teams will be gearing up on me and double-teaming me. But I just want to win, man. I want to get back to the playoffs any way possible. I don’t care what I average the rest of the year.” Walker, in the final year of a four-year, $48 million deal he signed in 2014, never has shot the ball so well -- 40.5 percent from the arc, 46.6 percent overall. Neither has he shot it so often and from such range. Walker is averaging 23 shots, including more than 11 3-point attempts. His usage rate of 33.5 trails only Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (35.1) and his 29.4 PER puts him ahead of Kevin Durant and LeBron James. Is it sustainable? That was one of multiple topics Walker talked about with NBA.com’s Steve Aschburner: *** Steve Aschburner: On Media Day, you made it sound as if you would hit this season hard from the start, and that’s exactly what we’ve seen. How do you explain it? Kemba Walker: I knew I had a good summer. I put in the work and the time and the effort to get better. And I’m healthy -- I haven’t felt healthy like this in a long time. Over the last three summers, I wasn’t healthy, having knee surgeries and ‘scopes. So I was rehabbing. This summer, I had a chance to work on my game. Being able to work on my shooting over a long period of time really helped as well. SA: You took as many 3FGAs last season as you shot your first two seasons combined. Now you’re launching them at a pace (11.3 per game) to break Steph Curry’s single season record (886). Is this a conscious change by you or a reaction to the league’s preferred style? KW: Both. The league definitely has changed from the time I first came in. Everybody’s shooting more threes, no matter their position. Me, I’ve just become more confident. I worked on my shot tremendously to get to this point. I’m comfortable now shooting it, whenever I can get to my spots. SA: What’s your preference -- pull-up threes, spot-up threes or those halfcourt threes like Steph takes? KW: Not at all [laughing]. Steph is a different type of shooter, maybe the best to ever shoot the basketball. But I’m comfortable shooting them however. It doesn’t matter. If I can get ‘em up, I try to make ‘em. But I do love for my teammates to create for me and get me some easy ones. It does take some stress, some pressure, off of me. SA: Your coach, James Borrego, has talked of using you more off the ball. Does that suit you? KW: It really helps. It gets me a little bit of rest, and it opens up a different dynamic in my game. As well as giving other guys a chance to have the ball in their hands and create for others. But the main thing is, it just keeps me fresher, which is huge for me. SA: What’s your take on the Charlotte rookies? KW: Oh, I’m a huge fan. Devonte’ [Graham] really hasn’t gotten a chance to play yet, but I’ve always been a huge fan, even when he was at Kansas. Just love his game, love his poise. And that’s skill -- I don’t think people understand how much of a skill it is to be poised, especially at a young age. It’s something that I didn’t have, something that took me a very long time to get. Miles [Bridges], he’s a hard-playing kid. Smart, always in the right spot on both ends of the floor. I can see him getting more minutes as the season progresses. SA: Malik Monk is a second-year guy who didn’t have the most satisfying rookie season. What do you see from him, and can he become a reliable backcourt mate? KW: Oh yeah, he’s growing. Every single day. His efficiency will come. He needs time to learn, needs time to develop, to figure out where his shots are going to come. He’s getting better already. He’s passing the ball really well, getting other guys involved. He needs to know we need him every night, with him coming off the bench for us. SA: Your rookie season was about as challenging as could be -- delayed by a lockout, rushed through training camp and a quickie preseason, and then a 7-59 experience. Did that set you back as a player? KW: Nah, it wasn’t a setback. It was humbling. I took it as a point in my career where I was going through adversity. It was tough -- nobody likes to lose -- and through my basketball career I felt I had been a winner. But I just stuck to it, just kept working hard. SA: You said you don’t want to talk anymore about your free agency next summer -- and your general manager, Mitch Kupchak, is on record saying, “Our intention is for him to end his career in a Hornet uniform.” Some people wonder what the market might be, though, given how many terrific point guards are out there. So let’s address that another way: what is it like competing with all those rivals? KW: It’s unbelievable, man. Every night. Every single night, somebody is there to … I can’t even explain it. Every team, there’s so many great point guards out there who are just ready to showcase their talents. There are young guys ready to show how good they are. Yeah, it’s a point guard league. SA: We’re seeing more and more teams switching everything defensively. How hard is that on a 6-foot-1 point guard? KW: It’s … tough sometimes. Some matchups, you don’t want to get. But I rely on my teammates to help out as much as possible. The most challenging part probably is boxing guys out. But I’m always up for the challenge. SA: Some players talk or at least play like defense is optional. Your thoughts? KW: Not at all. I’m paid to do it all. It’s not even about being paid -- I’m just competitive. I want to play defense. I want to score. I want to do it all. SA: I’ve often wondered what it’s like to play for the team that Michael Jordan owns. Other teams, the owners aren’t basketball experts. But that’s not the case for the Hornets. Is it intimidating? KW: I wouldn’t say intimidating. I love it. I want my owner to have played. He knows what’s going on, he knows how it feels after losses, after wins. Traveling. Being tired. He’s been through it. He knows what it takes to win games in this league. Even though basketball’s a bit different now from when he played, but still, he knows. I feel like I’m at an advantage because I can go to him, I can ask him things. Or he can just come to me, or text me or call me to let me know things. And let me know how to get past things. No, it’s an honor for us, it’s an honor for me to have him as an owner. SA: How is basketball different from when Jordan played? KW: For me, just the threes. A lot of bigs shooting threes. The bigs are different in general, you know? Back with MJ, I feel like the shooting guards and the forwards were dominant, and it was more of a post-up league. Now it’s a point guard’s league for the most part. And it’s not a post-up league much anymore. There are so many threes up in the air. SA: Do you little guys resent the stretch-fours and stretch-fives coming out onto your turf these days? KW: Yeah, man, it’s crazy. But it’s fun. Just seeing the development and the change. Even from when I first got in the league it wasn’t like that. But guys are so talented nowadays, it’s unbelievable. SA: Tell me about the Big Brothers Big Sisters work you do, mentoring four kids -- two boys and two girls -- in the Charlotte area. KW: Just to be in their lives. I take ‘em out to eat, take ‘em to Dave & Buster’s every now and then. It’s fun. I try to avoid the cameras. It’s not for social media. It’s not for anything but them. The kids are doing great in school. That’s the biggest progress, that’s what you want. They’ve really started to love basketball now -- they come to games sometimes. It’s been fun to see them grow, each and every time I see them. One of the kids, his mom passed away. I know it’s been a struggle for him. For me to be able to help get his mind off of that for a time, just be there for him, that’s definitely rewarding for me but I hope it’s more rewarding for him. SA: You’re in your eighth season, and you’ve played a total of 11 playoff games. What stands out for you about the postseason? KW: I remember every game. We played Miami twice. The first year [2014] was when they had LeBron, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. They swept us, but I thought we played really well. Obviously it wasn’t enough -- they had three Hall of Famers. I remember the level of intensity those guys played with. I remember telling myself, the next time I get to the playoffs, I’m going to try my best to play like that. The next time [2016], that’s what I did. People thought we might get swept again, but we went to seven games. It was really fun. The whole atmosphere was so intense. I loved it. You have to take your game to a whole ‘nother level. You have to play hard every possession, every second of those games. The competitiveness, the toughness, everything goes up. SA: A problem that team had, it still has -- you’re carrying such a big load offensively. Do you need a second reliable scorer, and is that guy on the roster now? KW: Of course. We need it. I’m not going to have huge games every night. It’s on one of these guys to step up. I think guys are still searching for their roles at this point, especially with a new coach, new system. We’re still learning. But as the season progresses, I think they will. We have guys who are capable of putting points up for us. SA: The All-Star Game this season is in Charlotte. You’ve been selected twice. What would you think of playing in that game in your market? KW: That’d be amazing. To be in Charlotte, the team that drafted me, the team I’ve played with for eight years now, it would be a really special moment. Hopefully I can get there. It’d be fun. A really important and fun moment in my career. Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting......»»

Jr. NBA PH press release Oct. 8, 2018, Gatorade Hoops Center – Sixteen Jr. NBA All-Stars of the Jr. NBA Philippines 2018 presented by Alaska got a special send-off this year from Alaska Milk the day before they left for their NBA Experience Trip to Shanghai, China. The eight boys and eight girls who topped the Jr. NBA National Training Camp last May underwent a basketball clinic conducted by NBA Legend Cherokee Parks and WNBA player Alana Beard, with US Ambassador Sung Kim in attendance. The All-Stars will play against counterpart Jr NBA All Stars from Vietnam, India, Thailand, Singapore and Jakarta during the trip, do city tours and watch an official preseason NBA game live between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Dallas Mavericks. They will be accompanied by Coaches of the Year Tata Belangel and Hazell Yambot. Above, L -R are: 1st row): Prince Ray Alao, Christian Joi Mesias, Nathan Jan Jundana, Kim Aaron Tamayo, Ethan Rod Alian, Seven Gagate, John Lester Amagan, Manuel Luis Antonio Pablo 2nd row): E-Cow, Marielle Vigno, Madelyn Flores, Christine Nichole Venterez, NBA Global Partnerships Director Mae Dichupa, Gin Kayla Huelar, Aishe Mae Solis, Amber Esquivel, Kyla Mataga, Pauline Angelique Valle, Jr. WNBA Coach of the Year Hazel Yambot 3rd row): Jr. NBA Coach of the Year Mark Belangel, Alaska Power Camp Head Coach Jeffery Cariaso, Alaska Milk Corporation Sports Development Head Richard Bachmann, U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim, former NBA player Cherokee Parks, 4-time WNBA All-Star and Los Angeles Sparks Guard/Forward Alana Beard Fans can follow Jr. NBA at the official website www.jrnba.asia and Facebook at www.facebook.com/JrNBAAsia to learn more about the program as well as how to join and become a Jr. NBA All-Star in 2018. To learn more about Alaska Milk Corporation, visit www.alaskamilk.com and www.playph.com......»»

First it was Jerrick Ahanmisi. This time it was Sean Manganti who took over and flexed his muscles in Adamson University's latest conquest in the UAAP Season 81 men's basketball tournament. From playing sparse minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, a possessed Manganti emerged in the second half to lead the Falcons to a 90 - 76 victory over the University of the East with a career-high performance of 27 points on 63 percent shooting from the field. On top of that, he thrilled the Adamsonians with a fantastic slam in the third quarter. Sean Manganti TAKES FLIGHT ✈ #UAAPSeason81 pic.twitter.com/ZHx2JMTXSu — ABS-CBN Sports (@abscbnsports) September 19, 2018 "I was so excited because that was my first dunk since Season 79 because [during] Season 80 I was with injuries the whole season so I was excited for that one. I tried to give something to the crowd," he said. Behind his stellar performance is the desire to make up for what he describes as a "terrible" first game last September 9 versus Ateneo. He only scored four points then. "That's what I have been trying to do this whole year even during the preseason. I came out during the first game really, terrible game so I try to make up for it," Manganti explained. Aside from producing points for the team, Manganti, together with Ahanmisi, is also providing leadership in the squad. This is something that head coach Franz Pumaren has specifically asked from both of them. "Prior to this opening of the UAAP, I sat with them, I talked to them about their roles. I mentioned that the young guys will follow them if they play well," Pumaren explained. However, he has yet to see both players explode at the same time. "I guess I'm still waiting for the time that these two guys can really play like an orchestra at the same time, I think that will be a fun thing to watch, both guys playing well," added the Adamson mentor. Regardless, with both seniors' performance in Season 81 so far, Manganti seems to be embracing the role he is expected to fill. After all, he had a good precendent to emulate. "All I do is fill the spot. Last year it was Rob Manalang so I just try to fill that spot, trying to be a leader," added Manganti. With Ahanmisi and Manganti leading the pack and Pumaren directing the shots, the Falcons carved their best start in the UAAP since 2003 with a 2-0 slate. Manganti thinks that this impressive start will spark a big school-strong school mentality in the Adamson faithful. "I want everybody to look at Adamson as a big school. How many years has it been that it is looked at as a small school," Manganti shared. "Nobody takes it seriously. I just want to be taken seriously showing we are a great team.".....»»

HOW’D THEY DO LAST SEASON? 13-1 after eliminations, 1-1 in Final Four, 2-1 in Finals, champion YES, THEY’RE STILL HERE: Anton Asistio, Isaac Go, Gian Mamuyac, Matt Nieto, Mike Nieto, Thirdy Ravena WELCOME TO THE FAMILY: SJ Belangel, Matthew Daves, Angelo Kouame, William Navarro, Adrian Wong (returning) GOOD LUCK ON FUTURE ENDEAVORS: Chibueze Ikeh, Vince Tolentino WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT FROM ATENEO? As it should be, defending champion Ateneo de Manila University is the favorite to repeat. “We recognize the quality of the opposition. Anytime you have a successful season, you not only have to fight your own complacency, but you also have to fight the elevated determination that kind of season creates on your opponents.” – head coach Tab Baldwin While the Blue Eagles’ championship team lost big man Chibueze Ikeh and glue guy Vince Tolentino, they are installing in their places 6-foot-10 Ivorian tower Angelo Kouame, Filipino-Canadian high-flyer Matthew Daves, and former San Beda University sweet-shooter William Navarro And oh, they now also have SJ Belangel of UAAP Juniors champion Ateneo high as well as returning swingman Adrian Wong. Safe to say, the defending champions only got better – and that much was evident in their strong showing in the 2018 William Jones Cup. “We try to make sure that we see each animal distinctly. The summer leagues, each of them was different, but there’s no doubt as to what we really exist for and that’s the UAAP. All of these things are in preparation for the UAAP.” – head coach Tab Baldwin Still, Ateneo is tuning out all the noise from all over and instead, as always, have decided to focus on themselves. “Expectations are irrelevant to us. We have our own expectations and we believe in ourselves. I don’t feel like I have anything to prove, but that doesn’t mean I would accept losing.” – head coach Tab Baldwin WHO IS/ARE THE PLAYER/S TO WATCH OUT FOR FROM ATENEO? Thirdy Ravena has been runner-up to MVP Ben Mbala for two seasons running. Now that Mbala is in Korea, it’s not that farfetched to see Ravena finally hoisting the trophy for top individual player. Matt Nieto and Isaac Go are also still here and even better than ever – especially after gaining valuable experience as Gilas cadets. All eyes are on Kouame who wowed in the Jones Cup as well as the Filoil Preseason. He is as raw as they come right now, but likewise has the potential to be the best foreign student-athlete the school has ever had. “Angelo has very little background in basketball and there are some complexities to our system, but he’s an intelligent kid. He’s very hungry and incredibly willing to do what’s asked of him. We believe in him and his future – both short-term and long-term. I think he has a big upside.” – head coach Tab Baldwin When it all comes down to it, however, Ateneo is still Ateneo and they don’t really have players to watch – just a team to watch. That means that what we can only expect is that there will be different top scorers, different top rebounders, and different top assist-men in each and every game. WHY SHOULD WE ROOT FOR ATENEO? Ateneo is the defending champion and the heavy favorite, but remains grounded on team play, selflessness, and brotherhood. That same balanced offense and disciplined defense is still here – and perhaps, even better than ever. “We just try to continue to grow. There’s so much to learn for these young players in the game of basketball and there’s so much development for them to achieve. We don’t get bored because tomorrow is another day to grow and improve.” – head coach Tab Baldwin And so the Blue Eagles are the team-to-beat for opponents, but also remain the team-to-love for fans. WHERE WOULD ATENEO BE AT THE END OF UAAP SEASON 81? Ateneo will be in the Finals once more – living up to its billing as favorite to repeat. A season sweep also isn’t out of the question, but even the Blue Eagles know that doing such thing is more difficult than winning the title or going back-to-back. WHEN IS ATENEO’S FIRST GAME IN UAAP SEASON 81? Ateneo’s first test in the tournament will be courtesy of another championship contender in Adamson University on September 9. Of course, It All Begins Here on S+A, S+A HD, LIGA, LIGA HD, and livestream. --- Follow this writer on Twitter, @riegogogo......»»

By Steve Aschburner, NBA.com Andrew Bernstein knew he wanted to be a sports photographer or maybe a documentary filmmaker. Trouble was, he recalled recently, his school at the time – the University of Massachusetts Amherst – offered courses in neither photography nor film. Not exactly a well-planned start to his chosen career. So Bernstein transferred to the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif. And once the native of Brooklyn stepped off the plane into 85-degree sunshine, he was hooked. Thus began a professional path that has taken him around the world, yet kept him Los Angeles-centric as the NBA’s senior photographer. A part-time job as an assistant to Sports Illustrated shooters helped Bernstein score his first NBA gig as a photographer the 1983 All-Star Game at L.A.’s famous Forum. He’d eventually serve as team photographer for the city’s Dodgers, Lakers, Clippers and Kings, but it was in his work for the NBA that Bernstein made his greatest mark. In 1986, Bernstein helped create NBA Photos as the league’s in-house licensing agency, for which he served as senior director until 2011. He chronicled Team USA through its 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympic championships, and has worked 36 NBA Finals and All-Star Games. Next month, his hardcover collaboration with Kobe Bryant -- “The Mamba Mentality: How I Play” -- will hit bookshelves everywhere. This week as part of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, the 60-year-old photographer will be honored as a recipient of the 2018 Curt Gowdy Media Award. To shed light on his craft and share some behind-the-scenes tales, Bernstein -- prior to heading to Springfield, Mass. -- talked with NBA.com about some of his favorite and most famous images. Come fly with him ... Details: Michael Jordan soars with several Lakers in futile pursuit at the 1988 Hall of Fame preseason game between Chicago and Los Angeles at the Springfield Civic Center. Bernstein: “It was one of those crazy moments -- in those days, I could only do one remote camera. Now I can do almost an infinite number because it’s all done by radio. But back then, you had to hard-wire into the strobe [lighting] system for the big flashes, and you could only fire one. I chose the one shooting through the glass, behind the backboard. A lot of things could have gone wrong. His hand could have been in his face. He could have been out of the frame instead of just on the edge. I could only take one shot every four seconds [with the strobe] -- it’s not like I could lean on the motor drive and then pick one frame out of 10. … But it became known as “Come Fly with Me.” It did kind of define him at the time as being able to fly.” Back story: Bernstein added: “If you have a microscope, you can actually see me on the other side of the court, sitting there with a little trigger button. Then there’s the trivia question of all time -- who’s the other guy? That No. 3 happens to be [University of Virginia star and NBA role player] Jeff Lamp.” MJ: Champion, finally Details: Michael Jordan and his father, James, in the visitors’ dressing room at the Forum, after Game 5 of the 1991 Finals. Bulls 108, Lakers 101. Bernstein: “The network would do the trophy presentation in the winning team’s locker room, and the visitors’ side at the Forum was about the size of a closet. There seemed to be a thousand people in there, and all hell was breaking loose. I got up on top of a table in the middle of the room for a vantage point. When they came back live from a commercial, they wanted to have Michael on -- but they couldn’t find Michael. Some sixth sense said, ‘Look to your left,’ and there he was, in the locker, hugging that trophy, crying his eyes out with his dad next to him. I always felt, if he’d had to play that whole season for free to get to the mountain top, he would have. I knew this was a special moment. I banged a couple of frames really quick.” Back story: After James Jordan was murdered in 1993, Bernstein got a phone call from Michael’s office saying he “would love it if I made a print and sent it to him,” Bernstein said. “Which I did. I was very close with my dad and Michael Jordan knew him -- my dad was with me through the entire Dream Team experience [in 1992]. And I knew his dad. So it was a poignant moment in my career to have him request that photo. If I had to pick one photo to put on my tombstone, this would probably be it.” ‘Mamba’ coiled to strike Details: Shot from a camera suspended in the rafters at the Forum, a Hasselblad 120mm with a 350mm lens. “A heavy rig,” Bernstein called it, anchored with multiple clamps and safety cables on the catwalk, aimed straight down. Bernstein: “I love the composition of this photo and how everything just came together. The Forum had that beautiful Laker-gold ‘key.’ This was young Kobe, his first or second year, and he was a dunk machine back then. Look how he’s cocked back like that and flying thorugh the air, the basket right there. All the elements came together. When I saw this the next morning -- I had to take the film to the lab after the game, drop it off, then go back in the morning after sweating it out all night, hoping that I’d see something like this -- I was like, ‘Wow!’ All the preparation, hours and hours, setting the equipment up, and it all paid off.” Back story: It’s not common to see the top of a player’s head and the bottom of his sneakers in the same shot. Bernstein knew he had to share it and, thanks to the large-format film, he knew he could share it big. “As soon as I saw this,” he said, “I immediately made a giant print for Kobe -- I mean, like 50 [inches] by 70. Huge. I framed it and drove it to his house. He was living with his parents in Pacific Palisades at the time. I hope he still has it. I had given players like Magic [Johnson] and whomever 8x10s, but I never had framed something I was super-proud of.” Old Kobe ‘dunking’ again Details: Kobe Bryant, deep in his career, before a game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in January 2010. Bernstein: “During a long East Coast trip, the Lakers had played the night before in Cleveland and were at the Garden less than 24 hours later. Kobe was banged up that year. This was an hour and a half to game time, and he was literally willing himself to play that night. Both ankles are in ice. He’s got the finger in a little cup of ice. During my pregame routine, walking from the locker room to the training room, I just saw him there. Other guys were coming and going, but he was in this meditative state. I took one frame -- God forbid the click of the camera disturb or distract him. Phil [Jackson] called this ‘The Thinker,’ like Rodin’s sculpture.” Back story: A skilled photographer learns how quickly how to be unobtrusive, a “fly on the wall.” Said Bernstein: “You have to, to get behind-the-scenes intimate photos of players away from the bright lights, and what goes on in the bowels of the arena or during travel. In 2009-10, Phil and I collaborated on a book called ‘Journey to the Ring,’ which took the Lakers from media day to whenever their season would end. They ended up winning it all that year, which was unbelievable for the project. The photos were in black-and-white, which was a conscious decision Phil and I made.” Photographer, shoot thyself Details: Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bernstein before the 2016 NBA All-Star Game, Western Conference locker room at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre. Bernstein: “This was his last All-Star Game and it was a true Kobe love-fest. I spent the entire weekend just with him, followed him everywhere he went. I mean, I didn’t cover it like I normally do for the NBA, and NBA Photos was very generous for letting me cover it through him. It was a beautiful weekend. He took it all in and was very appreciative. His humility came out -- a lot of people don’t think Kobe is humble, but I think he was. And he was very grateful, that he had an impact on all these All-Stars who were grateful to him.” Back story: The locker room was closed to the media, but as the league’s guy, Bernstein always has special access. “A couple of people were coming over to get photos with him -- Gregg Popovich, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul and a couple others,” the photographer said. “And I just jumped in myself. Very, very rarely -- I mean, four times in our 20 years together -- did I jump in the picture with him. But I couldn’t resist.” Shadowing the superstars Details: Another overhead shot at the Forum, this time during the 1991 Finals, with Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan fighting for what eventually will be a rebound. Bernstein: “With this angle, it’s always a crap shoot what you’re going to get. The rim could be blocking a guy’s face. Somebody could be too far under the basket. The focus point is so critical -- you have to be right on where it’s focused. As for the shadows, if you can imagine lights in each corner of the court, way up high. It just depended on where the players were placed. If one of them is blocking the light on one side, you get a shadow off to the other side. It’s always dramatic with the strobe. But just to get these two icons in the same frame was difficult.” Back story: Just as the famous parquet court at Boston Garden looked so iconic on TV and from afar, the Forum was best viewed from a distance. The paint worn off the top of the rim by balls and hands was something few ever saw. “The Forum was a dump,” Bernstein said. “The walls were caked with dirt. Nobody ever cleaned it. They used to feed us under the stands where the rodents were. It was like a Hollywood impostor, and it’s in Inglewood, which is not your glitzy Hollywood location. But they made it look good on TV. It was a tough place to work, I have to tell you.” Brothers in arms Details: A fisheye lens captures the moments immediately after Game 5 of 2017 Finals, with Golden State’s Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry front and center. Bernstein: “I’ve gotten good at getting out and being the first guy in the scrum. When a championship is won, I sharpen my elbows and just go for it. I try to be right next to the TV guy and well, I guess people know me and I make my way to wherever I have to be. This particular time, I knew there had to be a moment in there where Curry and Durant had an interaction. And it was amazing -- they’re almost like one body. It’s Kevin’s first championship and Steph is so happy for him as his teammate. And the pressure that was on the whole team to win this championship. I love this picture. It shows so much about the way I work and how I think about what I need to do in the moment.” Back story: Bernstein’s camera captured Durant’s mother Wanda to the left, crying and enjoying the moment. But a few seconds earlier, he said, “his mom came up and grabbed him by the front of the jersey. She kept yelling, ‘We did it! We did it!’ That’s a great picture too.” ‘Uncoachable?’ Unforgettable Details: Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson share a moment after beating the Magic in Game 5 and winning the 2009 NBA championship at Orlando’s Amway Arena. Bernstein: “If you remember the 2008-09 season, there was a lot of pressure on Kobe. People had been saying that he couldn’t win without Shaq, Phil had actually written that he was ‘uncoachable.’ But there’s such a paternal father-son thing going on in this picture. … I know I’ve got to go to the star player immediately at the buzzer. So I ran out and found Kobe. Phil and he had just come together and they were hugging, which is a nice picture. But I knew the instant after a hug can be just as special. Something told me to wait till after the hug -- because [with the limitation of the strobe lights] I can’t shoot rapidly -- and bing! They broke the hug and Phil’s looking like, ‘Job well done, son.’ And Kobe has this amazing look of relief and sense of accomplishment and exhaustion.” Back story: Bernstein said this is the only print of his work that his wife, Mariel, allows him to hang in their house. “We have three teenagers [at the time] who basically were the same age, all within a year of each other, and when all hell was breaking loose at our house, we’d stand the kids in front of this photo. My wife would say, ‘Look at that! If those two guys can get along and be respectful, we can do it in this house.’ ” Forever linked Details: The Celtics’ Larry Bird and the Lakers’ Magic Johnson fight for rebounding position along the foul lane at Boston Garden in the 1987 Finals. Bernstein: “This is probably my most well-known image, other than the one of Jordan hugging the trophy. Remember, these guys played different positions. They never really matched up. You’d never see Magic D-ing up Bird like you would with Michael or Isiah Thomas. And you’d never, ever see Bird D-ing Magic. I had to be unbelievably conscious of when they were on the court together, where they were on the court and somehow, if they would end up in my frame. The only times, honestly, I could ever get them in the same frame was the ‘captains’ meeting’ five minutes before tip at center court, shaking hands, and a free-throw situation. When, by the grace of God, they would line up facing me. That’s what this was. Back story: Just as Bird and Johnson were linked literally, arm in arm, in this photograph, their careers were linked figuratively through the NBA of the 1980s. “It kind of defined the era,” Bernstein said. “These two great guys intertwined, neither of them looking superior to the other. Jostling for position, just like the Celtics and the Lakers did. I love this picture, and I know both of those guys love it. This picture is hanging in the Hall of Fame.” Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting......»»

Just nearly two months after joining up with National University, Troy Rike said on Thursday that he will not be playing in the looming UAAP Season 81. “Due to factors out of my control, I will not be able to play in UAAP Season 81. The news was devastating to me and I feel great regret that I won’t be able to take the floor with my teammates this season,” the Filipino-American big man said in a statement posted in his Twitter account. It is still unclear what “factors” were “out of his control,” but he made it clear that he remains in NU and remains hopeful to return to action there sooner than later. “It always has been and will always be my dream to play basketball in the Philippines. I hope to be able to pursue that dream here at NU and get back to playing soon,” he said. Rike played for four years for Wake Forest University in the US NCAA before coming back home to the Philippines to suit up for the Gilas cadets in the recently concluded 2018 Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup. He already holds a bachelor’s degree from Wake Forest, but has enrolled for a master’s degree in NU. As per UAAP rules, a student-athlete from a non-member school who is pursuing graduate studies in a member school shall not be subject to residency. As a post-graduate student, however, the 22-year-old will only have one year of eligibility for the Bulldogs. Now, it looks like that won’t be happening – in the looming Season 81, at least. Still, Rike showed much gratitude to the Sampaloc-based school in his statement. As he put it, “I would first like to thank NU, my coaches, my teammates, and management for welcoming me with open arms into the community the past couple of months. He then continued, “Although I’ve only been at NU for a short time, it really feels like home and I will always be thankful to have been part of the NU family.” The Gilas cadet then ended his statement by saying he will be cheering on the Bulldogs in the looming Season 81 tipping off on September 8. “I’m behind my teammates 100 percent and I’ll be cheering the squad on all season – no matter where the future may take me,” he said. --- Follow this writer on Twitter, @riegogogo......»»

While De La Salle University fell short of a podium finish in the 2018 Asia Pacific University Challenge, the experience they earned there will still go a long way as they commence a new era. The Green Archers fell to host Yonsei University, 80-92, last Saturday to wind up their campaign with a 2-3 record. That standing was only good for fourth-place in the invitational. Still, the Taft-based team welcomes the promising showings from the likes of scoring dynamo Aljun Melecio, hardworking forward Santi Santillan, and super rookie Encho Serrano. “Malaking tulong ‘to sa amin cause, first of all, we all know na yung team na ‘to is rebuilding so kailangang mabuo namin yung confidence namin sa isa’t-isa,” Melecio shared. He then continued, “Both on and off the court, yun yung nagawa namin.” In particular, Serrano, playing for the first time in green and white, showed several flashes of why he was once considered the top high school player in the country. “Masarap at masaya na makapaglaro na finally sa La Salle. Sobrang thankful ko rin kasi big experience para sa aking makalaro at makalaban yung mga team sa ibang bansa,” he said. A fully healthy team captain Kib Montalbo, who sat out much of the 2018 Filoil Preseason due to injury, was also a welcome sight. “Man’s greatest victory is to conquer himself. We learned a lot about mental toughness there,” he remarked. Now, La Salle will bring that experience to the looming UAAP Season 81. The Green Archers opened the tournament with back-to-back wins against Japan and Chinese Taipei before falling to UC Irvine, Russia-select, and Yonsei. --- Follow this writer on Twitter, @riegogogo......»»

DILIMAN Preparatory School rode on a monster game by Jarius Muñoz to roll back SBCA-RTTM, 69-57, in the 2018 Youth Basketball Cup Summer Showdown at the DPS covered courts in Commonwealth Ave., Quezon City. Munoz finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and four steals to power the Quezon….....»»

National University is piling on one more piece to its already stacked roster for looming UAAP Season 81. Manning the Bulldogs’ frontcourt alongside Issa Gaye, Matt Aquino, and Jonas Tibayan will be Gilas cadet Troy Rike. Rike himself reported the news in a tweet posted on Thursday evening. Season 81 🦅🏹🐯🦅🐶🐃🗡 ? pic.twitter.com/lOww5Aremq — Troy Rike (@troyrike) Hulyo 5, 2018 The Filipino-American big man played for four years for Wake Forest University in the US NCAA before coming back home to the Philippines to suit up for the Gilas cadets in the recently concluded 2018 Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup. Rike already holds a bachelor’s degree from Wake Forest, but has enrolled for a master’s degree in NU. As per UAAP rules, a student-athlete from a non-member school who is pursuing graduate studies in a member school shall not be subject to residency. As a post-graduate student, however, the 22-year-old will only have one year of eligibility for the Bulldogs. Nonetheless, Rike said he plans to make the most out of the opportunity. “The most important thing for me is to get as many game reps as I can over here (so I can) get accustomed to the Filipino style of play,” he said. Just a day ago, the Gilas cadet turned NU Bulldog also grabbed headlines by continuing to extend a helping hand to Australia. --- Follow this writer on Twitter, @riegogogo......»»

It’s final – Rhayyan Amsali is not eligible for San Beda High School for the upcoming NCAA Season 94 Juniors Basketball Tournament. The league’s eligibility meeting concluded on Friday and there, it was determined that with one failing grade, Amsali was unable to meet academic requirements. The 6-foot-3 forward, who had just transferred to San Beda from Nazareth School of National University, has been the talk of the town as he and his camp filed a complaint questioning his failing grade. Last Tuesday, the Amsalis, through Atty. Michelle Africa, forwarded a letter to NSNU stating that Rhayyan was belatedly informed that he had failed a subject. For their part, NSNU said that the Amsali camp, through mother Nurisa, had knowledge of the failing grade since early May. Now, the latest update in the issue is that the Department of Education is asking for clarification from NSNU about how “there was no intervention given to prevent Rhayyan from getting a failing grade before the school year ended. Furthermore, no effort was done by the people concerned to inform the parents about the child’s predicament.” (photo courtesy of DepEd) Whatever happens from this point, though, will not change the fact that the NCAA’s eligibility meeting is over and done with and there, Amsali was unable to get into San Beda’s lineup. Nonetheless, the 17-year-old said that he is set to stay in Taytay. “Kahit hindi ako maglalaro, nandito pa rin yung isip ko at yung heart ko sa team na ‘to. Susuportahan ko sila kahit anong mangyari,” he told reporters as he and the Red Cubs, serendipitously, downed the Bullpups in the semifinals of the 2018 Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup. This, even though it would mean that he now only has one playing year left in the NCAA Juniors. “Yung samahan po rito sa San Beda, iba e. Unang pagpunta ko pa lang dito, ang gaan na e,” he shared. --- Follow this writer on Twitter, @riegogogo......»»

Ateneo de Manila University is in Greece to toughen up for its looming tile defense. “I want to see our character,” head coach Tab Baldwin in the Blue Eagles’ last game in the 2018 Filoil Flying V Preseason Tournament before flying to Athens. Thirdy Ravena and company have been doing just that, having won their first game. And on Sunday (Philippine time) they did just that again, with Ravena, in particular, adding to his clutch credentials. Thirdy Ravena was not nice to the Greek Under-21 national team. He wins this one for Ateneo! #UAAPSeason81 📸 team manager @epokquimps pic.twitter.com/Gk9wvHPvcG — Normie Riego (@riegogogo) June 24, 2018 With Ateneo down by one in the dying seconds to Greece’s Under-21 team, the ball was inbounded to Matt Nieto who then found Ravena at the top of the key. Cool and collected, the UAAP Season 80 Mythical selection rose and lauched a long-range missile. It found the bottom of the net and it proved to be the game-winner for the Blue Eagles, 84-82. Yes, the UAAP champions have defeated the Greek U21 national team, the reigning kings of FIBA Europe Under-21. And now, they turn their attention to a couple more tuneup games before heading home on July 27. A day later, Ateneo then takes on resurgent NCAA power Colegio de San Juan de Letran in the quarterfinals of the Filoil Preseason. —— Follow this writer on Twitter, @riegogogo......»»

THE basketball team of Hua Siong College of Iloilo (HSCI) wrapped up the Bingawan Foundation Cup-Season 2-Preseason High School Basketball with a blowout victory against St. Robert’s International Academy (SRIA) Panda Rockets, 90-71, at the Bingawan covered gym, June 19, 2018. Reynold Tupas erupted with 24 big points to claim the title for the Hua […] The post Hua Siong captures Bingawan cage title appeared first on The Daily Guardian......»»

By Steve Aschburner, NBA.com NEW YORK – There was a ballroom full of NBA centers in midtown Manhattan Wednesday – not one of them eager to follow in the sizeable footsteps of Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Shaquille O’Neal or Dwight Howard. In fact, on the very day that the top prospects for the 2018 Draft were made available to the media – a talent pool particularly long on length this year – Howard was on the move again, in a reported deal from Charlotte to Brooklyn that will land the eight-time All-Star with his fourth team in four seasons and sixth overall. That bit of news – of an old-school NBA big man being shuffled off again, primarily for salary-cap purposes, into what looks to be basketball irrelevancy – served as a counterpoint to the young giants just starting out. There will be plenty of guards and forwards selected in the first round Thursday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, including Michael Porter Jr., Trae Young, Collin Sexton, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Mikal Bridges, Kevin Knox and Lonnie Walker. But the lottery will be top-heavy with big men, with Deandre Ayton, Marvin Bagley III, Mo Bamba, Jaren Jackson Jr., Wendell Carter Jr., and Robert Williams all hearing their names called. All six are listed at 6'10" or taller, though they’ll bear little resemblance in style or production to the Hall of Famers cited above or even to Howard. The last time last time six players that size were drafted in the top 10 was 2007, when Greg Oden, Al Horford, Yi Jianlian, Brandan Wright, Joakim Noah and Spencer Hawes all went early. Much has changed in 11 years. These young guys represent basketball’s new-age pivot men, er, which means we’d better drop the “pivot men” nomenclature. Rather, the word that got tossed around most often Wednesday during conversations about these guys’ fit – with specific teams and in the league generally – was modern. Modern centers for a modern NBA. “Modern-day 5,” is how Mamba put it. “Defend multiple positions, can shoot it, handle it a little. Can do a little bit of everything,” the 20-year-old from Harlem, by way of Pennsylvania and Texas. Said Jaren Jackson, Jr., fresh from one season at Michigan State: “At times, I’ve heard that I’m right on time for the way the game is going. A lot of bigs can handle the ball and be versatile and they’re able to make plays.” If you want to feel old, consider the NBA’s prevailing definition of “modern.” With major league baseball, for example, what’s known as the “modern era” historically is thought to have begun in the year 1900. By contrast, the NBA’s modern era dates back to about a week ago last Tuesday. That’s how quickly the contributions from the center position have changed. After ruling the NBA landscape for most of the league’s first 50 years, traditional big men looked at now as dinosaurs, both in form and function. Plodding isn’t allowed. Posting up, back to the basket, and backing into the paint seems as dated in this league as helmetless players in the NHL. There have been noticeable markers along the way. In the ‘90s, players who naturally would have been trained and used as centers – Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Rasheed Wallace, Amare Stoudemire, Antonio McDyess – demanded to face the basket and be referred to as power forwards. Then in 2012, the league joined them, eradicating “center” from its All-Star ballot and opting for “frontcourt” as a catch-all category for everyone from 6'5" wings to seven-foot shot swatters. This latest era dates back just a few years, if you go by a few key analytics. A recent ESPN.com story tracked the minutes played by seven-footers in the playoffs, compared to the regular season, and identified the tipping point as the 2016 postseason. Even if you back it up by a year to include Golden State’s heavy use of small ball in winning its championship in 2015, that’s still barely more than a heartbeat. But the full embrace of the three-point shot and the type of pace favored by a majority of current NBA coaches has put a premium on centers – we’re taking liberties in even calling them that anymore – who are mobile, who can switch defensively, challenge perimeter shooters, do some of that shooting of their own and still crash the boards and protect the rim. The next Shaq or Kareem? Now the model is Houston’s efficient Clint Capela, Boston’s savvy Al Horford or Minnesota’s ridiculously skilled Karl-Anthony Towns. Big guys such as DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis have added range to their shots. Some – Andre Drummond, Jonas Valanciunas, a few more – have status or contracts assure them minutes. Yet other old-style bigs are out of the league (Roy Hibbert, Andrew Bogut) or logging long stretches on the bench (Greg Monroe, Al Jefferson, Hassan Whiteside). Just two years ago, Jahlil Okafor was the No. 3 pick in the 2016 Draft. These days, he’s an afterthought with little market value. Teams don’t want to play the way Okafor and others like him need to play. So the challenge for a fellow such as Ayton, projected to be the near-consensus No. 1 pick this year, is to make sure no one confuses him or his game with DeAndre Jordan. Asked about the trend Wednesday (Thursday, PHL time), Ayton at one point sounded a little defiant. “I’m not changing my way of play in the NBA,” he told reporters. “I’m still an inside-out type of player. I’m going to start inside and establish myself down low until I have to stretch the floor.” It helps, of course, to have that option. Ayton already is built like an NBA veteran, but he has sufficient quickness to cover ground defensively and to keep up with a faster offensive pace. And for those who haven’t been paying attention to him since the NCAA tournament ended – or in Arizona’s case, barely got started with that opening loss to Buffalo – Ayton has a surprise: a more reliable three-point shot he’s willing to unleash. “The NBA three-ball is way farther than the college three-ball,” he said. “I’ve really put on some range and put on some muscle. When I’m fatigued in games, I really can [still] get my shot off in a perfect arc.” Bagley, depending where he lands, might end up playing more out on the floor than the other bigs in this draft. That’s his experience, having had Carter next to him at Duke to handle the basics. Williams will likely benefit from shifting in the opposite direction. He played a lot at power forward for Texas A&M but is rated highly for how his game translates to, you guessed it, modern center play. Bamba has drawn comparisons to Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, as much for his charisma as for any play similarities. He allegedly has overhauled his shot this spring, and also was eager to tout his three-point range Wednesday (Thursday, PHL time). Then there is Jackson, who has been rated as the best two-way player of the bunch. That includes not just his defense against fellow bigs but his ability to keep up with and guard nearly any position. Jackson seemed to speak for all the big men among the future pros in New York Wednesday (Thursday, PHL time). Unlike a previous generation of centers, many of whom got caught in the NBA’s transition to a smaller, faster, position-less style, the young centers of 2018 grew up watching it. And preparing for it. Nothing frustrating about it, Jackson said, though it’s a far cry from the league in which his father, Jaren Sr., (1989-2002) played. “No. Whatever helps each team do their best is what lineup they’re going to put out,” Jackson said. “They’re going to put the best players on the floor every time. You look at a team like the Warriors, they switch everything. They can play all different positions. That’s what they’re good at.” That’s what these guys, given their size, are remarkably good at too. Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting......»»

THE championship game of Bingawan Foundation Cup-Preseason High School Basketball will pit Hua Siong College of Iloilo (HSCI) against St. Robert’s International Academy (SRIA) Panda Rockets at the Bingawan covered gym, June 19, 2018. Hua Siong Red Phoenix reached the finals after defeating University of San Agustin (USA) Golden Eagles, 83-78, in overtime. USA shooting […] The post St. Robert’s vs Hua Siong in Bingawan cage tilt appeared first on The Daily Guardian......»»

THE University of San Agustin (USA) pulled off a big surprise as they outplayed Sta. Clarita International School (SCIS) Primes, 93-79, in the Bingawan Foundation Cup-Preseason High School Basketball Championship at the Bingawan, Iloilo gym on June 12, 2018. The USA Golden Eagles staged a 26-0 run in the first quarter and never looked back […] The post BINGAWAN CUP: USA Golden Eagles upset Sta. Clarita appeared first on The Daily Guardian......»»